| Ordering Information | Sizes and Prices | Custom Buckles | Jim Hayes | Jess Bates | One-of-a-kind pieces |
 Jim Hayes 1978 Aspen CO |
Jim Hayes arrived in Aspen, Colorado in 1949. |
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Rumor is that he came to Aspen for a ski vacation, spent all his money
and was forced to stay.
Jim set up his first jewelry shop in a corner of the Golden Horn restaurant on the corner of Mill and Cooper Streets. He began creating Aspen Leaf designs in 1950. Originally from Texas, Jim and his family moved around during the Great Depression to make ends meet. In 1937 he lied about his age and joined the Army; the Field Drawn Artillery. Jim witnessed when the Artillery was mechanized and the men had to shoot the horses. |
 Jim skiing 1948 |
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When WWII began, Jim joined the Air Force. He was stationed in Boca
Raton FL where he flew radar students out over the ocean.
One day they were out flying and a hurricane came up. The planes were called back to the base and told to circle the airfield. One by one they ran out of gas and had to try to land in the storm. _______________ |
 James Hayes in the Air Force, WWII |
Several planes crashed and burned. Jim landed but slid off the runway.
The Radar set fell and hit him in the back of the head, smashing his
face against the controls. He was in a coma for four months. he had to
learn to walk again. They rebuilt his face with plastic surgery. ___________________ |
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After the War Jim went to college on the GI Bill and took many classes in Jewelry
making.
Eventually he moved to NYC and worked there in a jewelry manufacturing
company.
He took up skiing and went on several trips to New England. He met Charlie Paterson who had a shack in Aspen and told him about the FIS coming in 1950. So Jim went to Aspen in December 1949 and stayed for the FIS. When spring came he was broke and went to job-hunt in Denver. He was in a line to apply at the Molybdenum mine in Leadville.. but the men all said..."Get in this line; you'll make more money". they told him to say he could drive earthmovers. |
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| Thus Jim Hayes wound up in Greenland for two summers building the Thule Airbase. He learned how to drive the big earthmovers in the hold of the ship on his way there. He became a local hero when he returned and paid all his bills in Aspen. The second summer he stopped in Detroit and bought himself a new Mercury which he drove back to Aspen in the autumn of 1952. During the winters he tested skiis for Head, and broke a pair a week. | ||
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In November 1952 he met Mary Eshbaugh, reporter and photo journalist at the Aspen Times newspaper. They were married April 18, 1953. Jim had a silversmith shop but there wasn't much business. He bought a truck and tractor from Fritz Benedict and started Jim Hayes Earthmoving. One day he woke up and said, "What are we doing! I'm an artist and you're a writer and all we do is haul dirt!" He sold the business in 1961 to an employee; Dick Stutsman and his friend Jerry Gerbaz, and went to Art school, studying with famed abstract artist Vance Kirkwood. Jim opened a shop in Denver and sold quite a bit of jewelry and paintings. Summers he worked for the Operating Engineers and drove heavy equipment. He drove earthmovers on the Reudi Dam project and building highways in California. | |
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Jim and Mary had five children; Pauli, Elli, Lauri, Clayton, and Bates.
In 1972 Mary went back to work full time as a reporter at the Aspen
Times and Jim was able to return to being a silversmith year-round. He
had several small shops around Aspen, but eventually settled into
working out of his home studio on Bleeker Street.
By the 1980's Jim had established himself as a well-known local metalsmith, and his belt buckles rose in popularity. In 1982 he accepted his youngest daughter, (Jess) Bates, as an apprentice. They have worked together for twenty years and the business grew exponentially. Bates and her husband Steve Solomon supplied an additional shop space in Basalt CO until 2002. |
 Jim at his bench in the corner at the Hayes' home on Bleeker Street, Aspen. |
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In his 70's and 80'sJim became a favorite local character through his many
activities and zest for life; He resumed his abstract painting.
Many will remember his fleet of hopped-up Volkswagen bugs lining the
curb on Bleeker St.. He became a horseman. He practiced gymnastics with
the local kids and had a trapeze in the backyard. He was a singer. He loved
dancing and was often seen at local charity balls flinging the women
around the room.
A bit of a trouble maker in his youth, Jim earnestly worked toward being a more loving person throughout his old age, and is well-loved by many. Jim passed away December 14, 2012, peacefully at his home on Bleeker St. in Aspen. He was 92 years old. |
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